Here's Who The NRA REALLY Represents

In its early days, the National Rifle Association was a
grassroots social club that prided itself on independence from
corporate influence.

While that is still part of the organization's core function,
today less than half of the NRA's revenues come from program fees
and membership dues.

The bulk of the group's money now comes in the form of
contributions, grants, royalty income, and advertising, much of
it originating from gun industry sources.

Since 2005, the gun industry and its corporate allies have
given between $20 million and $52.6 million to it through
the NRA Ring of
Freedom sponsor program. Donors
include firearm companies like Midway USA, Springfield
Armory Inc, Pierce Bullet Seal Target Systems, and Beretta USA Corporation.
Other supporters from the gun industry include Cabala's, Sturm
Rugar & Co, and Smith & Wesson.

Additionally, some companies donate portions of sales directly to
the NRA. Crimson Trace, which makes laser sights,
donates 10 percent of each sale to the NRA. Taurus
buys an NRA membership for everyone who buys one of their
guns. Sturm Rugar
gives $1 to the NRA for each gun sold, which amounts to
millions. The NRA's revenues are intrinsically linked to the
success of the gun business.

The NRA Foundation also collects hundreds of thousands of dollars
from the industry, which it then gives to local-level
organizations for training and equipment purchases.

This shift is key to understanding why a coalition of
hunters, collectors and firearm enthusiasts takes the heat for
incidents of gun violence, like the shooting massacre at Sandy
Hook Elementary School, rather than the companies that
manufacture and market assault weapons.

The chief trade association for gun manufacturers is
the National
Shooting Sports Federation, which is,
incidentally, located in Newtown, Conn. But the NRA takes front
and center after each and every shooting.

"Today's NRA is a virtual subsidiary of the gun industry,"
said
Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy
Center. "While the NRA portrays itself as protecting the
'freedom' of individual gun owners, it's actually working to
protect the freedom of the gun industry to manufacture and sell
virtually any weapon or accessory."

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There are two reasons for the industry support for the NRA. The
first is that the organization develops and maintains a market
for their products. The second, less direct function, is to
absorb criticism in the event of PR crises for the gun industry.

It's possible that without the NRA, people would be protesting
outside of Glock, SIG Sauer and Freedom Group — the makers of the
guns used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre —
and dragging the CEOs in front of cameras and Congress.
That is certainly what
happened to tobacco executives when their products continued
killing people.